Pitt's Wendell Davis humbly accepts starting job at middle linebacker

Wendell Davis has confronted temptation and walked away from it — not his toughest task as Pitt’s starting middle linebacker.

But staying on course helped him remain healthy and focused, two of the most important attributes any college football player needs to survive this season.

Davis was not tempted to celebrate Monday when he discovered, through the social media release of Pitt’s depth chart, he had won the starting job in his redshirt sophomore season.

“No one really told me,” he said.

He suspected as much, though.

“I was getting reps with the first team. I was just waiting for the official result to come out,” he said.

Still, he called his dad, former NFL and CFL tight end and college coach Wendell Davis, with the good news. If he was tempted to crow about it, he resisted.

“He was excited for me, but at the same time, he gave me advice,” Davis said. “As hard as it is to get to that spot, it’s even harder to remain there.”

His dad told him to remain humble and keep working. “And that’s what I’m going to do,” he said.

“Even though I’m the starter week 1, I’m going to keep working the same way I was before that. You can lose it at anytime.”

Davis knows senior middle linebacker Chase Pine, who’s two years older and has appeared in 34 games, isn’t far behind on the depth chart. But Davis had been busy, too, mostly on special teams.

He’s played in only 16 games, but he made history last season, becoming the first Pitt player “on record,” according to a team spokesman, to return a blocked punt for a touchdown one week (against Central Florida) and block a punt the next (Delaware).

Pitt won both games by one and three points, respectively. Without those plays, Pitt might have finished 5-7, instead of 7-5, in the regular season. And what a disaster that would have been.

Davis wants to continue working on special teams when this season opens Saturday at Heinz Field against Austin Peay.

“I’m still going to do everything I can,” he said. “I talk to coach (Andre) Powell (special teams) all the time. I’m going to be on some.”

Davis said he acquired his love for the game from his dad. “I was always around football, just wanted to be like my dad,” he said.

“He’s definitely my biggest critic. When I was in high school (Benedictine Prep in Richmond, Va.), I’d get off a 10-tackle game or something like that, he’s yelling me, telling me stuff I should do better.”

As college men, responsibilities don’t end for Davis and his teammates, even off the field.

“I’ll drive around Friday night, getting some food and you see some kids who may be having fun at off-campus houses, doing college kids things,” he said. “Me, as a 20-year-old man, that’s fun. That’s part of the college experience.

“But for us to keep the season going, we have to be responsible. I would be doing my team a disservice if I was to go out there and be selfish and then lose a spot because I wanted to go party. It’s all about how bad you want it. If you really want to play, then you’re not going to do that stuff. You’re going to sacrifice that pleasure time to stay in with the team.”

Already, one ACC game — N.C. State at Virginia Tech — and at least four others involving FBS teams have been postponed because of covid-19 concerns.

Pitt senior left guard Bryce Hargrove doesn’t want his final college season disrupted. Like the player who lines up next to him, All-ACC center Jimmy Morrissey, Hargrove doesn’t deviate from his daily routine: home, practice, home.

“What’s more important? One day’s satisfaction or the ultimate goal at the end of the season?” said Hargrove, one of 21 seniors on a team with high expectations.

“There is definitely a different atmosphere. We all hold each other to a higher standard and ourselves to a higher standard. We remind each other we have an ultimate goal (ACC championship).

“I don’t do anything outside of staying here extra, getting treatment, film work. I go right home and I stay home.”

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